With everyone’s hectic schedules, it’s often hard to find a day and time for public education classes that works for everyone. The Mansfield Water Utilities public education team took note and is taking their efforts to the streets.

Introducing “Cruise Day Tuesday,” an initiative that brings the public education team to where people already are allowing them to build relationships and answer questions face to face. Cruise Day Tuesday will be a continually evolving program, changing based on the pop up location for the day and the season of the year.

For example, if the team sets up at a public park, they’ll likely bring the hydration station, but that may not be the case at every location they visit. Summer topics could center on efficient irrigation, while fall and spring topics may focus on Texas SmartScape garden practices.

In honor of World Water Week, Mansfield Water Utilities will offer residents free conservation kits during the first Cruise Day Tuesday.

“Arianne and I are both parents,” said Stephanie Zavala, public education specialist. “There are some weeks I have something to attend every day after work. So we get it. We understand that most people aren’t jumping up and down to add anything else to their calendars, especially a class.”

The folks at Tarrant Regional Water District love the idea of Cruise Day Tuesday and say they see a lot of opportunities for creative public education.

“The only limitation is their imagination at this point” said Dustan Compton, regional conservation program manager for Tarrant Regional Water District. “We’d even love to see Master Gardener’s participating through our Learn and Grow program. Maybe they can be a pop in Garden Guru during a Mansfield Cruise Day Tuesday.”

As public engagement with water utilities’ programs and services increases, water truly becomes a catalyst for community transformation.

“Everyone is our customer,” said Jeff Price, water utilities director. “Every resident, every business. Outreach initiatives help us put a face to a name.We’d rather people come to us first with their questions instead of Google, whether that’s an email, phone call or a visit to the city website. We want people to know how to find us and engage with the great value added services we provide for them.”

The team is kicking off the Cruise Day Tuesday campaign on Aug. 29, in honor of World Water Week. They will be handing out free water conservation kits to residents provided by Tarrant Regional Water District, Mansfield’s raw water supplier. The team will announce where they’ll be popping up on the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you’d like to request the team to “pop in” somewhere on Aug. 29, email them at [email protected].